What Works Cities Partnership

The Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County (ACCGOV) was selected as one of 95 cities partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies' national What Works Cities initiative, one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance the use of data and evidence in the public sector. ACCGOV has received expert technical assistance in its partnership with the Center for Government Excellence at John Hopkins University (GovEx) and Results for America, two of five What Works Cities' expert partners.

The goal of this partnership engagement is to develop a performance management program that will measure and communicate our progress towards achieving Mayor and Commission strategic priorities. What Works Cities, Results for America and GovEx assisted ACCGOV by connecting our organization to a network, comprised of other partner cities across the United States, and providing guidance and proactive support based on best practices at no monetary cost to Athens-Clarke County. The engagement concluded in March 2018, after approximately 120 days.

ACCGOV leadership worked diligently, with assistance from What Works Cities and GovEx, to enhance department performance measures, which were included as part of the FY19 Budget document. These performance measures were identified around department mission statements. Manager Blaine Williams was interviewed by Emily Shaw, Senior Advisor at GovEx, regarding the new direction toward performance practice at ACCGOV. The article, How They Did It: Athens-Clarke & Its New Performance Practice, reflects our approach to strengthen our performance practice, as well as challenges and highlights encountered during the development process.

For additional information about the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County's work on this project, contact Sarah George in Organizational Development at 706-613-3110 ext. 1300 or email Sarah.George@accgov.com.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies works in 480 cities in more than 120 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health.

About What Works Cities

What Work Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative, helps cities use data and evidence to tackle their most pressing challenges and improve residents’ lives. The initiative’s What Works Cities Certification program is the first-of-its-kind national standard of excellence in city governance that evaluates how well cities are managed and whether cities have the right people, processes, and policies in place to put data and evidence at the center of decision-making. Through the initiative’s expert partners, cities around the country are receiving support, guidance and resources to succeed.